Community Coalitions - creating organizations which represent a multitude of community
groups and bring together the collective resources of these groups in order to
reach a common goal which would be difficult for the individual groups to reach
on their own. The Chicago Abused Women’s Coalition formed in response to rising
awareness of the high incidence of battered wives in America
Strengths: the strength of community
coalitions is in the fact that it is a multitude of smaller groups fighting for
a greater cause. The larger the coalition the more influence it may have both
legislatively as well as geographically.
Weaknesses: Some of the members of these
coalitions may have hidden agendas, as was the case with the Pacific Garden
Mission -Unshackled and the Gospel League Shelter, which both required women to
attend Bible classes, plus imposing religion on the women who seek the services
(ibid.).
Consciousness-raising - increasing awareness, bringing a
new understanding of issues, both on the political level and a personal level.
The 1970s term “the Personal is Political” exemplifies how personal aspects
within one’s life, such as wage equality, are political issues. This is a valid
strategy of change, and to be used under the premise that the general public is
unaware of these issues. If the public is already aware of these issues, then
it would be logical to onto the next step for example social action.
Examples of consciousness-raising
would be circulating petitions, utilizing such websites as change.org for such
a purpose, or the use of other social media. It can be combined with other
forms of spreading the word such as distributing flyers, posters, etc. This
strategy was used to great effect during the organization of the Montgomery
Strengths: the strength of consciousness
raising lies in its ability to quickly get the word out and attract attention
(often times via the media) to a given issue and in its ability to mobilize
people for given cause.
Weaknesses: An obvious weakness of consciousness-raising
is that the same media which pays attention to it can also contort it in order
to make the activists appear extremist, irrational, disorganized, etc, thus
running the risk of potentially hurting the movement.
Social Action - constructive conflict, in
particular confronting and challenging government and other figures in
positions of authority. This enables disenfranchised populations to empower
themselves by organizing around a common goal utilizing such things as
protests, boycotts, petitions, etc. This is a valid strategy of change if the
conditions are right within a given society. In the case of the social climate
in Lithuania
An example of this would be: Daniel
Sotomayor, the leader of the Chicago branch of ACT UP, who in the 1980s,
confronted Mayor Richard Daley with a banner stating “Daley, tell the truth
about AIDS” thus illustrating how social action can be used to confront figures
of authority. Another fine example is that of Alice Paul, who was fearless in
her fight for the women’s right to vote and got arrested numerous times and
placed in solitary confinement.
Strengths: the strengths of this strategy are
that they bring attention to social issues which may otherwise get swept under
the rug by the media. The media is drawn to drama, therefore, this type of
extreme behaviour would draw media attention, thus giving free publicity to the
movement.
Weaknesses: D’Emilio demonstrates that the growing
visibility of gays and lesbians in the public eye also increased the risk of
violence being perpetrated against them. This, in turn, would necessitate yet
one more issue regarding rights which would need to be addressed utilizing a
strategy of change, in this particular case, the Hate Crime Statistics Act (D’Emilio,
The World Turned, p 107).
Alternative Settings - would entail the creation of spaces
as alternatives to mainstream settings. Mainstream settings would include but
are not limited to the following: churches, schools, and other such
institutions which would utilize a hierarchical system of administration. An
example of alternative settings would be the formation of LGBTQ community
centers throughout the country and throughout the world. LGBTQ community
centers provide a myriad of activities, support groups, counseling services,
safe spaces for LGBTQ youth in need, and other services. This is a valid
strategy of change as long as it is not taken too far, as was the case in Berlin
Strengths: one of the strengths of alternative
settings is that it creates a safe space for disenfranchised individuals in a community
where they can feel free to bring up issues and concerns which otherwise may
harm them in more mainstream settings.
Weaknesses: one of the weaknesses of
alternative settings would be the question of staffing. If it is staffed by
volunteers then it would be difficult to keep everyone dedicated and focused.
Some volunteers may just lose interest over time, thus requiring the search for
someone to replace that person as well as the training of the new individual.
Another weakness would be the fact that some alternative settings outlive their
usefulness, as was the case with the Van Dykes, who traveled throughout this
the country as a utopian separatist group. They were unable to sustain a
nomadic lifestyle in the long run due to a combination of infighting, the price
of essentials such as gas, food, etc. (Levy, p 4). Another weakness of this
strategy is when it is taken too far. This was the case with the lesbian
feminist movements in Berlin
Policy, Research and Advocacy - conducting research which would
inform and influence government, public policy, laws etc. An example of this
strategy is utilized by the NGLTF (National Gay and Lesbian Task Force), an
organization which works tirelessly to lift bans and prohibitions against homosexuality.
The NGLTF worked with allies in various fields of mental health in order to
remove homosexuality from the list of mental disorders in the DSM (Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual) published by the American Psychiatric Association. This
was a major leap forward because up until that point, homosexual behaviour was
treated as a mental condition which could be “cured.” (UCDavis). This is a
valid strategy of change because it involves empirical method of research,
logic, and legislative law in order to implement change.
Strengths: one of the strengths of this
strategy is that it helps with “leaping” forward in bold moves, as described in
the “leaping and creeping” stages of social movements (D’Emilio, class lecture).
Another advantage of this strategy is that the activism and the resulting
“leaps” make it to the national (and sometimes international) news, thus
setting a precedent for the same issues in other states and, hopefully, other
countries.
Weaknesses: the weakness of research, policy,
and advocacy is that it can only work under certain social conditions. Case in
point, the current social climate within Lithuania Lithuania
are conducted outside of the country, primarily in other European Union countries
such as England and Germany Lithuania
have consistently grown worse since the country gained its independence from
the Soviet Union in 1990. Xenophobia,
homophobia, sexism, and other forms of hate and intolerance are sadly
commonplace within the country. Members of the LGBT community within Lithuania Lithuania is in
a very early stage of its development and, sadly, cannot afford most of the
luxuries enjoyed by the LGBT movement in America Lithuania
B. Compare and Contrast Strategies
“The Times, They are a Changing”
As time changes, so do the needs of a
community as well as the needs of a particular movement. ACT UP (AIDS Coalition
to Unleash Power) arose in response to the AIDS crisis. The slogan of ACT UP,
“Silence = Death” emboldened many members of the community to come out of the
closet and fight for the cause. This was when Social Action took center stage.
Different eras call for different strategies or a combination of different
strategies.
The face of social activism changed
in America
The process of transforming an
organization from a handful of nonhierarchical active individuals, to a larger,
more complex organization, presents its own set of challenges. One of the main
problems facing the growth of an organization would be successful navigation
from one stage to another. The possibility that members would disagree is high
when taking all the variables into account: the direction the organization
should go, added responsibilities of that organization, as well as the
structure of the leadership, etc. Jo Freeman wrote an essay on this topic in
1973 entitled “The Tyranny of Structurelessness” in which she discussed the
disadvantage of veiled hierarchies which can be inherent in an egalitarian
system within an organization. As an organization grows it may have to walk a
tightrope between how it maintains an egalitarian system and how it continues
to provide a given service to the community. For example, how can a shelter for
battered women tend to the needs of these women while, at the same time,
expanding its staff building the organization further? The operative question to
ask would it still function efficiently in an orderly manner. Although an
egalitarian system may function well with smaller organizations, it could prove
problematic as more individuals join into the equation (Riger, 282). Thus, the
alternative settings approach can proof to have its difficulties.
Alternative settings can have
commonalities with community coalitions in the sense that as they grow they
become more complex and have to navigate around the turbulent waters of hidden
agendas of individuals/organizations. Infighting is not uncommon in both
alternative settings and community coalitions, as organizational/hierarchical
changes occur within these two settings. It is hard to guarantee the longevity of
a group which utilizes an alternative setting structure because it may be
dependent on funding from within, and may collapse if the funding, from grants,
fundraising, etc dry out. It is important for an alternative setting to have a
set of standards regarding who the accept funding from. Government may attempt
to step in by offering funding for certain services, but then these
organizations may have to abide by the government’s rules in order to continue
receiving these funds. That was the dilemma faced by the Women’s Health Center
Individuals may choose to participate
in any of the five strategies depending on what their personal philosophy and
feelings are on a given issue. That is not to be confused with collective
action in the form of what community coalitions and other such groups may
advocate. In that sense the LGBT movement
in the LGBT community would be two
different things. The LGBT movement would
imply some form of activism whereas the LGBT community simply refers to the collective members of the community,
regardless whether they are activists or not. I personally know quite a few members
of the LGBT community who are not politically active in any way for any cause. It
would be a flaw in logic to assume that the LGBT movement for the right to get
married (gay marriage, for example, as opposed to trans-, or intersex- marriage),
would reflect the opinion of every member in the LGBT community. Therefore, any strategy for change, be it women’s
rights, immigration rights, etc., is not representative of the entire population.
The wide spectrum of organizations,
such as Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the Howard Brown
Health Center
In closing, I would like to assert
that all of these five strategies are logical and beneficial, although it is of
the utmost importance to assess the social/political environment, as well as
the advantages and disadvantages of each one of these strategies before
deciding on how to proceed with a given movement. Different cultures have
different mentalities and therefore different understandings (or misunderstandings)
about a given issue. These differences need to be taken into consideration
before taking the next step for change.
Bibliography
D’Emilio, John, Cycles of Change,
Questions of Strategy: the Gay Lesbian Movement after 50 Years
D’Emilio, John, The World Turned:
Essays on Gay History, Politics, and Culture, Duke University Press, Durham
Levy, Ariel, Lesbian Nation: When
Gay Women Took to the Road, the New Yorker, March 2, 2009
Morgen, Sandra, the Dynamics of
Cooptation in a Feminist Health Clinic, Social Science and Medicine, Vol.
23, No. 2, p 201 – 210, 1986
Riger, Stephanie, Challenges of
Success: Stages of Growth in Feminist Organizations, Feminist Studies, Vol. 20, No. 2, Women’s Agency: Empowerment and
the Limits of Resistance. (Summer, 1994), p 275 – 300
Robinson, Jo Ann Gibson, The Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Women who Started It: the
memoir of Jo Ann Gibson Robinson, University
of Tennessee Press , Knoxville
Schechter, S., Women and Male Violence:
the Visions and Struggles of the Battered Women’s Shelter Movement, South
End Press, 1982
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